Arafat Calls Israeli Acts Humiliating Many Palestinians Arrested And Arab Homes Demolished

Israel arrested dozens of Palestinians on Monday and demolished four houses built by Arabs in Jerusalem without permits, actions Yasser Arafat said were aimed at “humiliating the Palestinian people.”

The Palestinian leader, who later went to Jordan for talks with King Hussein, said Israel was intent on meting out a “collective punishment” for last week’s bombings in Jerusalem.

Mahmoud Sabbah watched while his unfinished home, intended to house 25 relatives in the Shuafat refugee camp in east Jerusalem, was destroyed by Israeli bulldozers.

Israel says the homes it destroyed were built illegally, but many Palestinians maintain they were torn down for political reasons.

“This is revenge,” Sabbah said. Israel “decided to take revenge against Palestinians for the crazy suicide bombers.”

After Wednesday’s suicide bombing in Jerusalem, which killed 15 people including the two bombers, Israel imposed tight travel restrictions on the West Bank and Gaza and suspended talks with the Palestinians.

Twenty-nine Palestinians were arrested Monday, raising the number detained by Israel since the attack to 145. An army statement said they were suspected of “terrorist activity.”

Leaflets in the name of the Muslim militant group Hamas claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s bombings. A Sunday night deadline set in the leaflets for Israel to free all Palestinian prisoners passed without incident, but Israel says it has reports indicating Islamic militants will attempt additional bombings.

U.S. envoy Dennis Ross was expected in the region later this week to try to get the two sides back to the negotiating table.

Also Monday, Arafat met with Jordan’s King Hussein and the Arab League called an emergency session in Cairo for Tuesday at the request of the Palestinians. The European Union’s Mideast envoy also met separately with Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Hussein later called Netanyahu and offered to help mediate with the Palestinians. Netanyahu immediately agreed and invited Hussein to come to Jerusalem on Wednesday morning, Netanyahu spokesman Shai Bazak said.

The diplomatic efforts are complicated by a fundamental disagreement: Israel believes Arafat is being lax in moving against the militant groups; the Palestinians appear hesitant to crack down harder and are angry at Israel’s pressure tactics.

The EU envoy, Miguel Moratinos, said he told Netanyahu that some Israeli measures - such as the closure of the West Bank and Gaza - did not improve security.

Netanyahu defended the closure, which bars Palestinians from entering Israel and traveling between autonomous West Bank cities.

“These closures are meant to protect the Israeli citizens from these savage attacks that have claimed in a barbaric way the lives of innocent people,” he said.

In Amman, Hussein and Arafat called world and regional leaders to muster support for resolving the latest Mideast crisis, separately telephoning Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Netanyahu.

In their telephone conversations, the five leaders “stressed the necessity to consolidate efforts to resume the peace process,” according to a statement issued by Jordan’s government.